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Laurie dropped me off at the emergency entrance to the hospital and went to find a parking space. "I'm Everly Mason, my boyfriend, Chance Munroe was brought in by medivac."
"Have a seat in the waiting room, Ms. Mason. I'll let Tom know you're here. Tom and Laurie walked up to me from opposite directions arriving at the same time. Tom put his arm around my shoulders. "He's stable. There running some blood tests. We'll know more soon. Any luck getting..."
I held up my finger to stop him when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out. "This might be them," I said, and walked out the doors where I could talk more freely.
I looked behind me and saw Tom say something to the nurse at the desk before following me outside. "Hello, Mr. Meecham."
"How is Chance?" he asked.
"He's stable. Were you able to reach Cassie or Dr. Wainwright?"
"I reached Cassie. She hadn't responded to your message because she was taking Jared to the hospital. It sounds as though he is displaying the same symptoms as Chance. She'll call you when she can break away. I'm still trying to track down Dr. Wainwright. Please let me know if anything changes. I'll be in touch."
The next few hours were both boring and terrifying. Chance was moved to a room and made comfortable. I was told there was little they could do for him until they were able to speak with the doctor who had originally treated his wounds and provided the salve. They sent a sample of the medication out for analysis, but it would take days if not longer. In the meantime, they were treating his symptoms, trying to lower his fever, and keep him comfortable. The local doctor was anxious to speak to Dr. Wainwright and to the doctor treating Jared.
Tom and Laurie returned to Wilkins' Gap, but Tom said he'd be back in a few hours. I'd been sitting beside Chance's bed holding his hand and running through the facts I knew about what was going on. My analysis reminded me that Mr. Meecham might be able to tell me what hospital Jared was in. If I could find that out, the doctor treating Chance could talk with the doctor who was treating Jared and perhaps by sharing information they'd be able to find a way to help both men.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Mr. Meecham's number. "Hello, Mr. Meecham. I'm sorry to bother you again, but the doctor treating Chance is very interested in talking to Jared's doctor. He hopes that if they share information it might help both of them."
"I'll send you the information. I should also let you know that because of what's happened recently I asked DHS to provide security for you and Chance. They'll be doing the same at the hospital where Cassie and Jared are in Texas. I'll text you the name of the assigned agents as soon as I get them."
"Do you have reason to think we're in danger again?"
"No, but I want to take every precaution."
After I ended the call with Mr. Meecham, I stood up and stretched. I'd been sitting in the chair for hours. I walked around the room and pulled a pad and pen from my laptop bag. I laid the pad and pen on the table next to Chance's bed and set my purse on the chair so I could pull out my wallet. I like to think I'm an organized person, but it took longer than it should have for me to find Agent Driscoll's card. I keyed the number into my phone before giving too much thought to what I was doing.
I expected to get voicemail, but Agent Driscoll answered on the third ring. "Hello, Agent Driscoll. This is Everly Mason."
"Hello, Everly. How are you?"
"I'm OK, but Chance isn't. That's why I'm calling."
"How can I help?"
"I'm not sure that you can, but I just spoke with Mr. Meecham at BITES. He said that he requested DHS protection for us here at the hospital. Chance and Jared Dickinson were both injured during a recent hunt. They were treated by Dr. Wainwright who works for BITES. I'm not sure what's really going on, but they've both had some kind of adverse reaction. That's why we're at the hospital. I'm not sure if you'll be the agent assigned, but I feel like there's something more going on with all of this."
"What is it you want me to do?" he asked.
"I'm really not sure. I guess I just wanted someone to know what was happening."
"I'll check with the office and find out who we're sending out to you. I'll be in touch," he said.
I sat back down in the chair next to Chance. "And you thought Agent Driscoll had a thing for me, huh? He certainly didn't seem pleased to hear from me." I honestly don't know what I thought he could to do to help or why I called him. Unable to focus on anything I tried to accomplish on my laptop, I pulled out my phone and called Gracie Layne.
"Hi. How are you?"
"I'm OK. I just talked to you a few days ago. Are you OK?"
"Chance is in the hospital."
"Oh God, Em. Is he OK? What happened?"
I filled her in on the hunt and Chance's injury. "Dr. Wainwright treated him, but no one's been able to reach him."
"I might be able to help with that," she said.
There was some fumbling around and mumbling in the background before a familiar male voice said, "Hi, Everly. What's this about Chance being in the hospital?"
"Dr. Wainwright, what are you doing with Gracie Layne? Oh forget it. That's not important right now. Chance and Jared are both in the hospital. The doctors think it's a reaction to the salve you gave them, but without knowing what it is, they don't know how to treat them."
"Give me the doctor's name and number. I'll call him directly. Chance will be OK."